It’s impossible not to feel just a little bit glamorous when you walk into Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast and see the magnificent 750kg chandelier which once hung in the State Library of Milan. Palazzo Versace’s famous jewel-bright colours dance across the furnishings and artful floral arrangements decorate the lobby. The Palazzo Versace hotel takes luxury to a whole new level for the Gold Coast, and so does the Palazzo Versace High Tea.

With such fashionable surrounds it seems only fitting that the hotel has a suitably glamorous Palazzo Versace High Tea. It is served at the elegant Le Jardin Lobby Bar. This is the perfect spot to watch the passing parade of in-house guests and visitors who come to Palazzo Versace to enjoy a taste of the high life.

While high tea is traditionally enjoyed in the afternoon, I would recommend arriving in the late morning or early afternoon as the three tiered stand of sweet and savoury treats is substantial. Only someone exceptionally brave (or foolhardy) would attempt to tackle it after having lunch. Our experience began with a warm welcome and the invitation to sit wherever we preferred.

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Both the upper and lower levels of Le Jardin are beautiful but I think the upper section has better views of the pool and the passing parade. Couture High Tea starts at $86.90 for a glass of sparkling wine and there are a variety of different pricing options. The most decadent costs $169.90 per person and includes a glass of Ruinart R Champagne. Weekends are extremely popular and slightly more expensive so try to visit mid-week if you can.

Ruinart is one of our favourite Champagnes and not usually available by the glass so we were thrilled to see this as an option. The waitress suggested we begin with the Champagne and order our coffee towards the end of the high tea experience which was excellent advice and made the experience last longer.

When the three tiered stand arrived, it proved to be as beautiful as it was delicious. The bottom stand was filled with delicate sandwiches such as prawn and crab meat and there was a pot of spicy red pesto served with crunchy pumpkin croustades. The second had two feather-light vegetarian quiches and a petite ramekin of green olives which were an ideal match for the champagne.

Plain and sultana scones were served with a pot of cream and selection of French jams. There were also tiny square salted caramel tarts sprinkled with salt flakes which turned out to be my favourite sweet treat. White chocolate coconut mousse came in a shot glass with an eye dropper of raspberry gel. It was delightfully whimsical and added a touch of fun. Cake pops, tiny mocha meringue tear drops and raspberry macarons with fresh berries adorned the top tier which looked (almost) too pretty to eat.

There were a lot of treats to enjoy but the mix of very sweet (macarons) and slightly bitter (dark chocolate salted caramel tarts) options evened things out nicely. The Couture High Tea at Palazzo Versace was one of the most generous high teas I have ever encountered. And it had the stunning good looks of a supermodel.

Disclaimer: The writer was a guest of Palazzo Versace.

Fancy some more pampering at Palazzo Versace? Here is our review of the Aurora Spa at Palazzo Versace and Vanitas Restaurant.